Why do men seem to have a propensity to fall so easily from grace?

What happened to Tarun Tejpal is nothing new.

It is a motif.

Like a paisley or something.

A design that existed many years before the ancient Greeks gave it a name…hubris.

If you read any Greek classic, you will find a near-perfect hero …who suddenly finds himself just too self-satisfied.

What is that thing that makes men overestimate their own competence, their own accomplishment or capability? And get infected with this terrible victory disease in spite of their awe-inspiring lives and magnificent CVs.

What in the world do you think makes Tarun Tejpal force himself on a woman?

Lance Armstrong take drugs?

Bill Clinton lose the plot over some young intern?

Rajat Gupta become a secret pipeline to Rajaratnam?

Satyam’s B.Ramalinga Raju cook the books?

Or make Arnold Schwarzenegger father a child out of wedlock with his housekeeper?

Just how entitled and special can you feel before things start to go wrong? And why do men find it so hard to be Neil Armstrong and so darned easy to be Lance Armstrong?

I read an interview of Dalai Lama in which he said he had no clue who Tiger Woods was. I couldn’t help but wonder how therapeutic this information would be for Mr Woods. A lethal antibiotic shot from God himself.

Why are our heroes so destined to fall? Can nothing be done to alter or prolong the destiny of one’s life regardless of the number of precautions/preparations one takes/makes?

But wait a minute.

What about heroic women?

How do they manage to alter fate?

Why is there no female Icarus?

It’s simple.

They don’t buy into the I AM THE KING OF THE WORLD story.

I had read somewhere that men in the corporate world often classify women in three neat boxes.

1. They are not capable
2. They are not interested
3. They are both – but tragically they cannot break the glass ceiling.

When it comes to leadership manifestations….hubris is often masked as charisma and sexy aggression. Qualities seen more commonly in men than women.

Women in any boardroom of the world will outperform men on emotional intelligence which is a strong driver for modest behaviour. Which is why women find it harder to look like a sultan with a sword when they leave for work on a Monday morning. Thank god! That’s the very thing that keeps us sane.

Now you know why Hillary Clinton will never have bunga bunga parties in her back lawn.

Or why Naina Lal Kidwai will never squeeze her intern in an elevator.

Or why Indra Nooyi will never babble Pepsi secrets for some money on the side.

And how nothing can make Deepika Padukone go shoot chinkaras in the middle of the night.

We women do double shifts. Even if we are scoring high in the nine to five job, we are acutely aware of our appraisal at home. We live with the delicious dilemma of trying to do everything right. And be everything right to the people in our lives.

We are a satisfactory factory. And we make OK all day.

And that’s the only reason why our egos are not that entwined with our designation. When one goes…the other still stays.

The author can be contacted on Twitter at @techyswati